Panorama Point Snowshoe

February 10, 2018

If you ever want to feel like you are standing on top of the freakin' world, I highly recommend snowshoeing up to Panorama Point at Mt. Rainier.

From the Paradise parking lot, snowshoeing towards Panorama Point is gorgeous with gradual elevation gain. You have a view of Rainier the whole time and large snowfields to explore with no cliffs to fall off for the most part.

Momma Nam catching up

Andy's mom was able to join us on this trip. It was such a lovely, sunny day. Lucky for us, Rainier was out the entire time. Mrs. Nam did a great job keeping up. She ended up finding a flat spot with great views to set up "camp". We had lunch together before Andy and I headed off to Panorama Point.

Lunch break

As we approached the hillside up to Panorama Point, it really didn't look that ominous. As I surveyed the amount of people on the hill, I wondered why so many of them were stopped and not continuously climbing up.

 

I'm not sure if it was this particular day with these particular conditions, but climbing that hillside was so difficult. There was so much sliding. The layers of snow and ice kept breaking off in chunks or layers and sliding under foot. About that time I understood why everyone was taking it slow. We saw this one couple attempting the climb in sneakers. They were both clearly struggling and I'm quite certain they turned around. There were many people stuck on the hill because they just couldn't get their footing.

During my 40 minute climb up, I was continuously squashing my fears of heights, steep slopes, sunburns, avalanches, wondering how the heck I was gonna get back down, having the earth give way right under me,  losing footing, and potentially ungraciously rolling down a steep slope in front of 50+ other people struggling up the same climb. So, you see, in my head I was a mess. On the outside, however, Andy said I looked like a beast haha :D

Making my way up. Too scared to take my phone out for pictures.

Notice the drop off behind Andy.

There was part of the climb where my kickstep technique was spot on. I was able to quickly ascend and passed some folks. But, towards the last third of the climb the snow beneath me kept shedding off in sheets, bringing my footing with it. It was terrifying and at one point I swear I was doing the splits. So, every time this happened I would stop and assess my surroundings. Every time I stopped, I would look back and every time, I got scared. So scared that my legs started to shake. At one point I was on the left side of the slope and Andy was all the way to the right. I looked at him and told him I wanted to go back down. We were SO close, though, so I shook it off. I knew I could do it, it was just my mind holding me back. I carefully shimmied over diagonally to the right towards Andy and was able to maintain my footing again.

Beat Andy to the top to take a picture of him

It was glorious at the top. Standing on Rainier with Hood, Adams, and Helens clearly in the distance was awesome. It was too hazy to see Jefferson this day, though. We spent some time taking in the views. Some skiers and snowboarders continued on to Camp Muir (another 3 hours or so), but with boards you can get back down within an hour.

View from Panorama Point

Other folks at the top. There's also a summer toilet up here, but it's closed now.

View from Panorama Point

View from Panorama Point - looking down the way we came

After basking in the sun and taking pictures, it was time to head back down. Andy descended like a madman and I couldn't keep up. Talk about a quad burn!

Had to take a rest while heading down. Phew!

About two thirds of the way down, we again reached a part where the snow and ice was sheeting off. I watched as Andy kept sliding and before long, he decided it was safer to sit and slide down the slope on his butt. Another guy followed his lead and once I reached that area, I sat down and decided if I really wanted to do it. I changed my mind and tried to get back up, but with the snow sliding out from underneath me I couldn't get up. At this point I had no other option but to follow suit. I am not one who has the need for speed, but I made it down without taking anyone out!

We returned to camp where Momma Nam had a relaxing time chilling out. Clouds began to roll in as we were nearing the parking lot. We ended up taking a lower route back and saw some cool patterns in the snow. 

Like a snowy blanket

Hehehe....

Mt. Baker Snowshoe

January 20, 2018

Our original plan was to snowshoe Panorama Point at Mt. Rainier this weekend, but the government shutdown affected National Park Services so while Rainier was technically open, we'd be going at our own risk - there would be no visitor services, limited emergency response, and no plowed roads. Instead, we headed north to Mt. Baker and had a wonderful time snowshoeing there.

I've never been in such perfect snow. It was dry, fluffy, and there was lots of it. It was gusty at times so the falling snow bit at our faces but we were all smiles. John mentioned it was perfect conditions for skiing/snowboarding, which is probably why we saw so many of them and only a handful of snowshoeing groups.

Two separate couples we passed on the way up were heading down due to either low visibility or fear of avalanches (avalanche danger was high today). They did not make it all the way up, but noted a group of 10 were still climbing.

We decided to head up farther, though, since we'd only been at it for an hour or so. Eventually all we could see was whiteness and all we could hear was snow pelting our hoods. There was no established snow path stomped out since we weren't following anyone else's trail/there wasn't one nearby. Andy was leading the way and plowed through the thigh deep snow for us with his powerful legs! Needless to say he was super tired the next day!

Near the snow-buried summer cabin

Low visibility as we approached the top. Literally like walking into whiteness.

 

Likely all dreaming of what to eat once we get down...



Heading back

The hike down was quick and we had a lot of fun stomping around, falling on our butts, and getting stuck. Nothing like a tiring snowshoe trip and long drive to get our appetites going for beer and then oodles of Asian food.
 

Lost Lake Park Snowshoe

January 14, 2018

For my birthday weekend, Andy surprised me with a weekend trip to Canada. Downtown Vancouver is one of our favorite places to visit during the holidays, but since we went to San Francisco in December Andy thought it'd be nice to go for my birthday. Indeed, it was. Not only did we spend time in the city, but we also went snowshoeing at Lost Lake Park in Whistler and had après ski in the Village.

Parking was plentiful in Lot 5 just before 10 am on Sunday. We purchased our trail pass and made our way down to the Molly Hogan trail which takes you around the lake. The trail was very well groomed. So much so that we probably didn't need snowshoes that day!

Nice sunny day for snowshoeing

Snow covered sapling that someone turned in to a friend

In addition to Molly Hogan, we took the Donkey Punch trail (LOL). Trails go across cross country ski trails. I want to try cross country skiing one day.

Hi Andy!

People were ice fishing on Lost Lake (left). Snowshoe trail is along the groomed skiing trail in this picture.

All in all it took us 1 hour, 45 minutes to finish. Afterwards, we dropped our snowshoes off at the car and walked over to Whistler Village for a light lunch and window shopping. What a perfect day!
 

Land's End Trail

December 9, 2017

It's been 12 years since Andy and I started dating. We've been celebrating our anniversary in downtown Vancouver B.C. for the past few years because it is so beautiful during the holiday season, but this year we decided to spend it in San Francisco. Our friends graciously invited us to stay with them during our trip which was most excellent as they live in a central part of SF. We were able to walk almost everywhere.

We were spoiled with clear and sunny 63°F + days for the whole trip. What better way to enjoy the weather than with a hike at Land's End Trail? We arrived a bit past noon to a full parking lot, but with plenty of people leaving we were able to grab a spot quickly. From the get-go we were awarded with sweeping views of the Pacific and the Golden Gate Bridge.

View from the parking lot. It's a quick hike down to see ruins of the Sutro Baths.



Land's End Labyrinth and Golden Gate Bridge



View from above



Windy picture at the top-ish

Running along the ruins

Sutro Baths

All in all the trail was a nice and relaxing stroll. There were people of all ages enjoying it. We hiked up to the labyrinth, turned back and took the steps down to the ruins. Afterwards, instead of going to Cliff House, we walked along Ocean Beach with Rosy. It was a great afternoon and way better than SantaCon ;)

Seven Lakes Basin

September 16 - 17, 2017

My goal this summer was to revisit Seven Lakes Basin in Olympic National Park. Back in 2012 we hiked the High Divide Loop over 5 days, which gave us plenty of time to stop and smell the flowers. I had a draft post for that hike when I started the blog, but didn't publish it until recently since I hadn't written much about it.

So, with summer winding down we took advantage of perhaps one of the last sunny, warm weekends. Andy and I were prepared to do this in one day or two, depending on whether we could score an overnight permit at Lunch Lake. The ONP has a permitting system in the summer now. Where we wanted to camp (Seven Lakes Basin - Lunch Lake) 50% of the permits can be reserved, with the other 50% available up to 24 hours before the trip. There are other sites in the Park that can be reserved 100%, so one would need to plan ahead in that case.

We wanted to beat anyone who was looking for a walk-up permit like us, so we woke up at 4 am to catch the 5:30 am Edmonds-Kingston ferry. Google said the Port Angeles Wilderness Information Center (WIC) opens at 8 am on Saturday. Well, Google is wrong. They actually open at 8:30 am. We arrived at the WIC around 7:30 am, saw the business hours sign (8:30 am - 5 pm), got annoyed, then headed downtown to grab breakfast at First Street Haven, which I highly recommend.

We took our time enjoying breakfast and arrived back to the WIC at 8:32 am. There were already 5 cars in the lot and our chances were looking slim. Good news, though! The Ranger let us know there had been several cancellations due to the rain forecasted on Sunday, so we were able to get an overnight permit for Lunch Lake!

We took the Seven Lakes Basin Loop trail to the left (clockwise)

Taking the clockwise direction starts you off in ~6 miles of woods before you get out into the open. We started this way to get the longest leg of the trip (11 miles) and all the climbing done on Saturday while the weather was nice, in case Sunday was a total wash out. We'd also be able take in all the sights on a cloudless day, as Sunday's hike would instead be a relaxing descent through the woods.

Andy making his way up on one of the many beautifully constructed log bridges

As we climbed higher, the air became fragrant with blueberries. Bears were busy munching away and didn't care about us at all. It was amazing. We ended up seeing a total of NINE bears.

Hey Bear

I am but a tiny part of this forest

I am but a tiny part of this forest, pt. 2

Morganroth Lake

A Ranger making his rounds on the trail gave us a tip about a shortcut to Lunch Lake via a split off just before Bogachiel Peak. We actually took this path 5 years ago while we were exploring and heading towards Morganroth Lake from Lunch Lake. We didn't see this split off 5 years ago because it was snow-covered and not yet marked with the small arrow sign that's there now.



Shortcut to our destination coming up

It took us 5.5 hours to get to Lunch Lake from Sol Duc TH. Not too shabby. We set up at Campsite 9 and had a nice view of the lake.

Peek-a-boo Lunch Lake. The channel was bone dry.

Campsite 9

The evening was gusty, but warm. We ended up getting plenty of rest and woke up at 5:30 am to tear down camp. We headed out by 6:30 am to catch the sunrise on our hike up and out of the basin.

Early morning selfie before heading out of Lunch Lake :) :D

Andy pointing to the trail out of the Seven Lakes Basin. That's the trail up to the ridge.

Looking back towards Lunch Lake and that early morning dewy glow

Early bear gets all the blueberries at Round Lake.

Sunrise towards the top of the ridge on the way out of the basin

Once out of the basin, the remaining 7 miles to the trailhead was mostly through the forest. Andy and I stopped at a particular spot to take a few more pictures. We took a few  steps forward and to our surprise a bear was about 10 feet away from us! Luckily we were talking and it wasn't as surprised as us. In the picture below the bear is standing on its hind legs wondering what all the fuss is about. He or she went back to munching on berries shortly after. So cute! So cool! I'm still in awe.

My favorite bear picture

We passed by Sol Duc Falls on the last 0.8 miles out. It was of course beautiful.

Sol Duc Falls

As we stepped into the parking lot, the rain began. The weather was on our side again this time. 

 

Paradise Valley Conservation Area

June 18, 2017

There's a nice system of trails in the Paradise Valley Conservation Area located in Woodinville, only 30 minutes from home. The trailhead is right off Paradise Valley Road and offered ample parking on Sunday at 11 am. When we arrived there were a few muddy bikers just getting back to their car, while others were gearing up. We'd hope the rain showers would let up by late morning, but it was still drizzling by the time we hit the trail.

For some reason we were expecting no rain and paved pathways. So, we dressed that way: in street clothes with comfortable walking shoes/sneakers (also dressed for beers afterwards). No worries, though. For the most part we were protected from the rain thanks to the trees. The trails were well maintained so we only had to hop over a few mud puddles. The trail system is well marked with sign posts at every split. We did a quick in and out on the Mainline Trail and took a detour through the Whispering Firs trail on the way out.

Info plaques

The Clearing

Muddy buddies

Whispering Firs trail (foot trail only)

Happy Earth Apparel- 50% of their net profits go towards promoting conservation and sustainability

Toby is still working on trail manners and we'll need to be prepared to calm him down on these mixed-use trails; he doesn't like bikes! All the bikers we encountered were courteous and took it slower than I expected, which I appreciated.

Since it's so close to home, this will be a good one to revisit when we have more time and when it's sunny. I'd like to go for a run with Toby and explore split-offs from the Mainline Trail.